SLEEPLESS, a Ly–6/Neurotoxin Family Member, Regulates Levels, Localization, and Activity of Shaker

Sleep is a whole–organism phenomenon accompanied by global changes in neural activity. We previously identified SLEEPLESS (SSS) as a novel glycosylphosphatidyl–inositol–anchored protein required for sleep in Drosophila. Here, we demonstrate a critical role for SSS in regulating the sleep–modulating potassium channel, Shaker. SSS and Shaker exhibit similar expression patterns in the brain and specifically affect each other’s expression levels. sss mutants exhibit altered Shaker localization, reduced Shaker current density, and slower Shaker current kinetics. Transgenic expression of sss in sss mutants rescues defects in Shaker expression and activity cell–autonomously and also suggests that SSS functions in wake–promoting, cholinergic neurons. Importantly, in heterologous cells, SSS accelerates kinetics of Shaker currents and can be co–immunoprecipitated with Shaker, suggesting that SSS interacts with Shaker and modulates its activity. SSS is predicted to belong to the Ly–6/neurotoxin superfamily, suggesting a novel mechanism for regulation of neuronal excitability by endogenous toxin–like molecules.